Components used for finishing or cladding vehicle interiors are referred to below as interior components. Installed interior components must generally comply with fire protection regulations for passenger vehicles. Requirements relating to flammability, smoke emission, and toxicity of the materials set free in the event of fire are usually referred to as FST (flammability, smoke, toxicity) properties. Flame retardancy is here the capability of materials, products or components to withstand the effects of flames or sources of ignition or, equivalently, the capacity to prevent the spread of fire energetically, kinetically, chemically or mechanically. The test procedure to determine flame retardancy simulates an actual fire situation under reproducible conditions. Different physico-chemical data, such as the kindling temperature and the ignition point or the composition of the pyrolysate vapors, are acquired during the test procedure.
Plastic, fiber composite, or metal is usually used to finish or clad vehicle interiors. Visible surfaces of the components installed are generally provided with an individual décor to decorate and to visually design the vehicle interior. This can be in the form of either colored patterns or three-dimensional structures on the surface.
The color design of component surfaces for interior cladding, in particular for aircraft cabins, in the form of foil-cladding or laminated films, structured as required, has previously been described. In commonly used process, interior components are decorated by applying FST-conformal, two-component coating materials. The coating systems usually employed consist of two filler layers and two top coat layers, while the second top coat layer serves as the substrate for a surface structure. This finish therefore has a high area density. This is particularly disadvantageous for vehicles in which weight plays a role, such as aircraft. A further disadvantage of known coating systems is the long process times for their application, which are caused by the evaporation and curing times necessary for each individual layer. Filler layers must furthermore be smoothed prior to the application of the following coating in order to obtain a smooth surface. The methods commonly used to date are therefore very labor-intensive and consequently expensive.
The use of a powder coating to coat component surfaces is described by DE 10 2009 050 601 A1. The powder coatings are applied to the component surfaces by the electrostatic powder coating method and cured at a temperature of 130° C. The commonly employed powder coatings must be cured at a comparatively high temperature, in the range of 130 to 160° C., so that this method only has limited suitability to coat plastic components.